The Spirit, the Preacher, and the Word (Part 4)

In his book Fishers of Men, William Barclay wrote, “You will find a certain type of preacher and evangelist who claims that he is entirely dependent on the Holy Spirit. It is a blasphemous thing to saddle the Holy Spirit with the blame for rambling, wearisome, and unprepared effusions.”

If God is a God of order, then we would expect God the Holy Spirit to assist the preacher in studying for, developing, and delivering his best understanding of the biblical text. Let’s think about this section of John 14 in Jesus’ Upper Room Discourse once more . . .

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.